Wednesday, September 30, 2009

So Cleveland has been selected as host city for the 2014 Gay Games. Yayyyy.

Maybe if BrettCajun loses that baby-weight and finally gets some man-feet, he can qualify for gay tennis. I kid....I kid. He knows it. I think.

I am hoping it will be a cool and well attended event. When I was in Chicago in 2006 for a work conference, the game were going on and the town was a-buzz.

The hope is, it will be great for the city, economically. The hope is, it will be great for positive reinforcement as who we are as a community.

I won't lie - I could have easily seen why the Games would have gone to another city. Boston's state has legalized gay marriage. DC at least acknowledges same sex unions from other states. Cleveland and Ohio have and do neither. Not only that, in 2004 we voted to make it a state amendment to ban gay marriage. Yayyyy us.

So, in a way, they say: we'll exclude you/us - but we're happy to take your/my hard earned dollars.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Shopping with Blobby

Yet another installment in the drudgery that is everyday shopping. The camera-phone makes it a bit more fun - though I get looks whenever I take pics of products. Like I care what people think!One would normally have to go to a gay bar to find these - in coffee flavour or colour, or not. I've never seen them, or picked them up at CVS!

I don't know what they're making them with now, but back in the day, the nips I used to gnaw on sample, were not 30 calories. No wonder kids these days are getting obese!

Monday, September 28, 2009

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree when it comes to the Finn family. Liam is the son of Crowded House's Neil and nephew of Split Enz's Tim.

His debut album, I'll be Lightning, while venturing off a bit from his two more famous family members, doesn't stray too too far from his lineage. And what is it with the Finn men and their all to distinct, yet similar voices?

Liam has the same timbre as his father and uncle. I don't need to point out a specific song for this - as most of them fall into this category. I'm not complaining. I've been a huge fan of the two elder Finns since - oy - 1978.

The one thing Liam does on this disk is inject some Beatles influences. It's hard not to hear some Lennon on "Music Moves Your Feet" and "Shadow of Your Man". Influences only though - nothing that is an out and out rip-off.

Overall the disk is ok. It starts out strong ("Better to Be") and has some nice change-ups ("Lead Balloon"), but for a lot of the disk, it sounds a lot of more of the same. And Liam might lean on that aforementioned lineage a bit too much.

The guy clearly has potential and there are glimmers of it here. For a debut it is not bad, but I think he can do better.

But if you like Tim or Neil Finn (or any of the subsequent groups they were in), you'll like Liam Finn's disk.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

There is a slight ray of sunshine from my blog being down for a week. But just a slight one. Maybe two.

My archives are back. All of them. All the way back to March 2000 and fucking 3.

When I switched from blobbysblog.blogger.com to just blobbysblog.com, I lost a lot o'shit. I didn't really lose it, but you couldn't see it. I could - but that didn't help you none.

So for those who care to see what I've bothered to scribble in the past, and have a few hours or days on your hand - go knock yourself out. If nothing else, you can see how I've progressed as a blogger - or not. I can't tell you what to feel about my writing.

The other thing that is fixed is my RSS feed. To be honest, the only person who seemed to care was Larry. I'd get emails or comments from him - and now he can get off my back!!!! : ) To be fair, he picked up on the fact almost immediately that it had been fixed. I've never used an RSS feed myself - so I don't know how it exactly works or what you'd do with it, but once again - go knock yourself out.

Now I have two more things to do: fix images that disappeared prior to October 2006 and get my blog image I used to have back on top of the main page.

I guess I have a third thing to do too - I will lessen the amount of posts on the main page, so the blog will load quicker. You see so many posts now because when they went to the archive files they disappeared. Now that that problem is fixed, I'll help get you to where you want to be quicker.

Don't tell aplus.net though. I'm still pissed at them, even though, in theory they helped push me to fix some stuff.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Return Post

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

One week, a few more grey hairs and lots of on-line YELLING (see because when you use upper-case, it can signify anger and yelling!) and one or two calls to India a call center, and it seems I'm finally back up and running.

Hopefully.

The posts I had been writing while I was down are now up and posted, so you have 5-6 things to read besides this one, if you so choose. The way I see it, I wrote them on time, I attempted to publish on time - so I am continuing to meet my goal of a post a day for one year. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Let me just say, the people at aplus.net are morons. Yeah, I'm calling them out. They are my host for this here blog. I'm not hyperlinking them because you going to them would only have them thinking they are popular. I shouldn't have paid for services a year in advance. Had I done month by month billing, I would have dropped 'em like they're hot.

Talk about a messed up migration and upgrade process. I won't go into it all again, but it did not instill confidence, to say the least.

And since there was this big shake-up, once again, I'm attempting to fix archives and RSS feed. Don't hold your breath. I'm not.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

btw....I'm just blogging away in the hopes of one day all my back-logged posts get published. It's a blissful, if unrealistic world I live in. My own private universe.

I got my flu shot of the season. My first one that is.

As you hopefully already know, it is a potential two-shot season for you. But don't fret, it's been downgraded from a possible three-shot season.

The first shot was a breeze. It didn't hurt at all. And you should get one. Don't give me this bull that it gives you the flu, it does not. It cannot. It's a dead virus going into you. What you react to is a needle in the arm and all that goes with it - regardless of the serum (tetanus, pneumovax, etc).

And once again, this isn't about YOU. Hard to believe! You can be a carrier and never exhibit symptoms, but you can pass them along to others. Do you need/want that on your head?

The second shot would be for the H1N1 flu. The one that is estimated to off about 90,000 people in the U.S. this year.

You may or may not even be a candidate for the shot. Pregnant women are first in line - as they are the most at risk group. Children ages up to 24 are the next category, as they are usually in large large groups and do things like lick each other or stick tongues down each other's throat. Then there are healthcare workers and those who have chronic illnesses.

You healthy 25 year olds and up might get a chance at the vaccine if there is enough.

And don't pay for it. It is supposed to be government supplied - as that is how bad they think a pandemic flu will be for the country. Yeah - you might have to pay your co-pay or possibly an administration fee, but nothing for the actual serum.

The shots really do not hurt. It's not a kitten licking you, but you've had worse (and bigger) pricks in you. At least some of you. I'm not pointing fingers - just callin' 'em as I see 'em.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

We've been to a number of these over the last few years and oddly enough, we've never purchased one set of tickets. Folks I know, who are season ticket holders, have offered them up when they cannot attend. We've seen some good speakers - and some not so good ones.

Going in, I was iffy about Juan. I always liked him on NPR's Talk of the Nation and just doing other stories on a variety of NPR programs.

But I kind of lost a little respect for him when he started gigging at Fox "News".

I realize everyone needs to make a buck, but c'mon! NPR to Fox? He's supposed to be their liberal face, but if you've noticed (and why would you - unless you watch Fox) over time, he starts to spew their more right-leaning shit.

That being said, the talk was ok. Not great, but not bad. As always with this series, we bring the median age down by about 35 years. I'm surprised there aren't a few more broken hips on the way in and out of the theater.

The first 5-10 minutes were like stand-up. Bad stand-up. Yes, I turned to Denton and said, "is there a two-drink minimum with this?" Ahhhh - always a chestnut!

Juan didn't really stay on topic, which was supposed to be about politics in DC. It got more into those subjects, but it wasn't exactly what we thought it was supposed to be about. He yakked about how the media was influencing the fringe of healthcare, immigration and economic recovery debates. But never once did he address his involvement in that circus we call Fox.

Ugh - and the moderator at the end during the Q&A. His first question - honest to g-d - was at least 5 minutes long. And he just asked his questions and never really referred to the ones submitted by the paying audience.

I don't think there is anyone else in the series I want to see, except maybe David Gergen.

Monday, September 21, 2009

You may have experienced technical difficulties getting to my blog. For how long - I do not know.

I have certainly been experiencing them since Sunday morning. Stuff on the editor side seems to have published, but when going through my FTP/Host server, they bomb out.

Why, you might ask? Goooooood question.

One you would think my Host Server could answer. Here was a line from my on-line chat with them as I attempted to troubleshoot the issue. Mind you - I am talking to Technical Support!

artemiom:I am sorry I am not familiar with the blogging process. What should I check on the server which could cause your issue?

I. Don't. Know.

If I knew, not only would I not be contacting you, I wouldn't need to contact you. This is not an out-sourcing or off-shoring issue, this is just basic hiring the wrong people kind of issue.

When asked if this is an issue due to a system upgrade, he said: Exactly.

Want to know when the system upgrade was scheduled for? Do ya??? October 16th.

What fucked up organization changes the upgrade by 3.5 weeks and not notify anyone? Because not only is it an issue with my blog posting - they changed my frickin' sign-ons and passwords with out word one!

That means going in to all my settings and changing them just to republish the blog for anyone to see - which is a problem anyway. Much more so when I don't even know of new sign-ons or passwords......or of the actual upgrade.

So please stick with me over the next few days. I'm not sure how I will resolve this - and clearly, neither does my host.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

On Friday night - date night - we went out with our friends to see Julie & Julia.

I've always been fond of Meryl, what can I say? She is fun to watch work - even when, or if, it's a throwaway role.

Make no mistake, while she was good at her homage to Julia Child, and will no doubt get another Academy Award nomination for her portrayal, the movie was kind of fluff. I mean, it is Nora Ephron.

I wish I were a bigger fan of Amy Adams, but I'm not. I think she peaked playing Jim's girlfriend in a few episodes of The Office. Chris Messina did a good job, but he's just easy on the eyes - so who cares how he can or can't act. You might remember (or know) him from the last half of the last season of Six Feet Under, playing Claire's boyfriend.Jane Lynch was in it, playing Child's sister. She was great for the five minutes she appeared in it. She is clearly the go-to gal in movies and tv anymore. I swear, she's in everything. And rightfully so.

The movie is as much about Julie and it is about Julia. It's as much about relationships as it is about cooking. It's as much about food as it is about blogging. It made bloggers seem a little self-absorbed, vapid and all chasing some book deal. I can only identify with one of those traits.

Ironically enough, we went to a newish restaurant after the show. We had done both with our friends David & James - who seem to be our movie-going partners this year.

The irony comes in the way of the food. For a movie which talked so much about, and made it so important - Taste didn't really subscribe to that theory. The setting was nice, the owner was effusive, but the server was kind of full of himself (with no good reason) and the food was fair - at best.

Neither David or James finished their vichyssoise. They barely started it. My food was blah, but not horrible. David and I split the peach ice cream for dessert. But it seems they forgot the sugar....the cream....and the peaches. Or as David said, it was like cold cardboard - without the zing!

It would have been nice to finish up the movie night/date night/friend night with a good meal - but alas, that was not to happen. Live and learn.

For those of you counting.....this makes movie #8. I'm only one behind and if we hit a movie next week, I can totally keep on track for my 2009 goal.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Oh, don't pretend like you don't know. You've been dying for a reason to say 'ahoy' or 'poopdeck' or 'matey' or 'bootie'. Ok - you probably normally say the last one, but now you don't have to follow it up with 'call'.

At least this year I remembered in advance. I always figure it out mid-day and it's too late to blog about it.

...and now I can't get the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song out of my head. arrrrrrgh!

Friday, September 18, 2009

However, yesterday I made an employee cry. It's not like I went out of my way to bring her to tears, but yet it happened. And since she was kind of a wench I can't say I feel horribly bad about it.

She had already quit, verbally, but was being a little secretive about her end date - which is just childish. And I told her so. I might have been a bit more harsh than that, but not a lot. And then the tears came.

But then to be a complete prick, I just sat there and waited five minutes before I even offered her a tissue.

Then out of nowhere she goes, "the Armageddon could happen between now and the time I leave!!!!!"

I had no patience for that shit. I said, without a moment's hesitation: "then your resignation is the least of my worries".

When Denton got home, I told him come the beginning of 2010, he might have to put me on his benefits, because at this rate, I just don't know how long I can deal with some of this sophomoric behaviour.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

I might just be an age thing, I don't really know. I mean, I'm really glad I've gotten to know my 2ndcousin, David. We hang out together and just shoot the shit - and rarely about family. And drink. We drink.

It was funny, not too long ago, we were walking his dog, Ted, and he introduced me to neighbors as his friend.....and then said, 'well...he's my cousin'.

I was thinking it and they said it - 'it's nice you can be friends with your cousin'. And it is. I can't say I am with any of my others. Oh, and he's my #1 Facebook Fan.

But my great-grandfather was a jeweler back in the 1800s(man, that seemed weird to write) and I only have one piece of his work - and it is an ugly-ass ring that went from him to my grandfather to my uncle to my father to me. 'CE' were the initials on it, for my great-grandfather. My uncle chanced the C to an E for him. When it came to me, I'm sure my father thought he was doing the right thing to make the first E into a B. But it's now been changed so much, they almost look like Chinese lettering. And it's ugly and doesn't fit - so I ain't wearing it.

Bling, you'd call it. One off-set diamond and one off-set sapphire. And it's yellow gold. I'm much more of a platinum, white gold, palladium kind of guy. But it's an...I dunno....heirloom (?). It's all I have of my family name. Except my name.

There is one wall clock hanging in a restaurant right near us that was his, but the owner will not sell it to me - even though it does not work. I'd pay handsomely for it too.

Anyway, finally to my story. I found a pocket watch my great-grandfather designed and built on eBay. I rarely ever go there and was even too lazy to set up one of their alerts if anything came up - but I typed in his name and poof! it was there. $78. And it works!!!!

I could have bid on it, but I just did the 'buy now' option. Hell, the gold alone is worth more than $78.

The seller and I have exchanged a few emails. He was thrilled it's going back to a family member. He asked a little about me and my great-grandfather. I asked him how he came into possession of the watch.

I purchased it from a flea market vendor, was the reply.

I could not help myself sending back a message: LOL....and there is my family history wrapped up into eight words!

So I'm having lunch with David and our cousin Bill on Friday and will show them the watch (which btw, is the actual image with the title). On Sunday, I will take it and show it to my almost 90 year old father. I think he'll get a kick out of it.

Oh, the seller must be an elderly man. Packed in with the watch was a package of Werthers Original hard candies. I could not stop laughing when I opened the box.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

It's always bugged me that the group who did this song wasn't Marcy's Playground. It just begged for a possessive form - if you axe me. But no one did. No one ever does. Sigh.

I probably have stuff to blog about, but because I'm being lazy, I thought I'd share some pics I took of a man vacationing in OBX.

He and his "family" stayed at the same place we did. Naturally, I back-storied the entire thing to fit my needs. It was him, his fiancee and his daughter from his first marriage.

Why would I say this? The girl and the woman got along too well to be mother-daughter. And the woman was trying too hard it seemed to get the girl to like her. And "dad" wasn't wearing a wedding ring. It all made perfect sense to me.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Eat a Peach

I like food. What can I say?

But now and again, I don't care to be reminded what some food is. Like our time at Morton's a few years ago, with them bringing out the live lobster. Food to me doesn't have a face, if it is already pre-packaged.

I admire Andrew and Becky's commitment to their meatless (or vertebrae-less) diet. I could never get to that level.

Then again, every once in a while you come across something that makes you rethink that. Take last Friday. Denton and I went out to eat at our favourite mexican restaurant. Local and independently owned - thank you! We always have good service and meals there. But this time they changed their menu - the physical one, not just their rotating food selection. They separated by new categories:

Walking? It made me stop for a few minutes on what to get or how to order. I loathe mushrooms, so you can see the first two items of the nonmeat section. That wasn't going to work for me. I couldn't just eat guacamole. Avocados, while delish, are slightly fattening.

I mean, I got over it all and went to the 'swimming' section and got the sea scallops with the grilled peaches over arugula salad. Still....I'm not sure your clientele really wants to be reminded they are eating what were once live walking or swimming things.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Actually 'love' has nothing to do with it - to bastardize Tina Turner. Fingers do though. Oh yes indeed they do.

September is National Prostate Health Month. Did you know that? You probably should if you're over 50. Oh, and a male. That last part if very important.

I'm not over (or even at) 50, but it seems I've had my share of prostate exams. Legitimate ones. From licensed physicians. I suppose I've had others - but they weren't professionals. Or doctors. They didn't even play one on TV. Nor was it for anything medical....but I digress.

I think I've mentioned that with dentists, Becky recommended getting a female one, as their hands are smaller and gentler. I took that advice and it has worked well for me.

The same cannot be said for urologists. I have had a woman who had done this exam on me - a few times. I think Linda Blair had it easier in the showers when she was in Born Innocent. (now there is a cultural reference that will be harder to get for most....I'm assuming...)

Talk about the need to take me to dinner and movie next time!

The next time I got one was from my regular doc. A male. When I mentioned to him afterwards how much better that was than Dr. H's exam, he laughed and said: "well, they don't have one, so they don't know how to do it correctly."

Yes, that could come across as a little misogynistic, but so far (in my experience) he's right on the money. Gals - you might say the same thing about male OB-GYN Kenobis. Maybe they are not as sensitive as you think they could be.

So where I work is providing free prostate screenings this month. I'm not sure how expedited they are. I'm not sure I want Wham-Bam-Thank You-Man. Can't we talk and just get to know each other first?

And these are the posters that hang in every elevator. I'd be more than happy to let two of these three doctors give my exam. Bet you can't guess which one would come in third.

Turns out - you don't have to really bet at all. They're not doctors. They are fucking models - so even they don't play one on TV. We didn't even have the smarts to feature our own staff docs. WTF!

Oh well, I think I'd still rather have one of these two or three give me my exam. It's free - so you get what you pay for.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Eight Easy Steps

For all the ink that has been spilled over these two douchebags, Jon & Kate, I have never seen hide nor hair of them, save any clip that made it on The Soup.

I see crap in the paper or on hour seven of the Today show about them, but since I don't care about these people and/or their story, I certainly don't care about the television appearances they keep sprouting up on. Snore!

And as much as I love Kathy Griffin, I guess you need to know more about Jon & Kate (or care) to get fully invested in her little clip. I'm not saying she's bad, it is just that I don't care.

However, George Takei makes another hilarious appearance where he is mostly self-referential and slightly more funny than when he played Sulu.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

If you're a reader of gay blogs like I am, you most likely came up on this whole thing in the last day. It's making the rounds.

I suppose if I posted multiple times per day, I could have been more timely, but I don't - and I'm not.

There is a 2010 Marriage Protection Act going on in California. While stemming somewhat from Prop 8, it is meant to not specifically target the ban of gay marriage - but taking it further: Banning Divorce. Period.

Is it tongue-in-cheek? Maybe. Maybe not. But if gays destroy the sanctity of marriage, then divorce must do that too - no?

I know a lot of people like their one phrase: "You said 'Till Death Do Us Part'. You're Not Dead Yet". Yeah, it's cute, but I like the Jesus one posted here better. It's soJack Handy.

I'm not sure how long the site has been up, but it ain't got much momentum. As of this writing they had only raised $254. Hell, even the guy playing the saxophone outside Progressive Field has raked in more than that last night.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Site of the Month

Once again, I sat on my SotM posting too long (and it's only the first third of the month!), but of course, now I see it popping up in Facebook (Meredity, Jack, Glenn and who knows else) making me look like I'm behind the times.

I'm not.

I can count on less than one hand how many times I've been to a Wal*Mart. Icky.

I totally get that they serve a certain socio-economic need, but when one is built and opens by you and you go in two weeks later and it looks like it's been open for 18 years, something is wrong.

There are some things I like about Wal*Mart, like the fact that one of my staff members at my former job (while I was still there) drove the get-away car after her boyfriend (though she was still married - and oh, 19!) knocked over their local one. Her aunt, who was a security guard there, helped them.

If that doesn't perfectly encapsulate the Wal*Mart experience, I do not know what does - though this site tries to do it through still pictures.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Another installment of a disk I have enjoyed over the years. I'm trying to keep the Record of the Month posts to be fairly new releases. Classics are going to be ones that are at least 5 years old.

I mean - at some point in time, you know I had to do a Madonna disk - right? I mean, I'm gay!

I will cop to being gay enough to have a number of Madonna records. And that being said, I don't really play a single one of them anymore, save some tracks from Confessions on a Dance Floor.(somewhere in all of this, Morty is groaning and rolling his eyes. Dity too!)

Now and again, something from her debut disk, Madonna, shuffles through my iPod, but since I have only loaded like two of the album's eight tracks, and I have 1,800 songs on my iPod, they don't come up too often - as you might imagine.

But as I was looking to update that iPod liberry before vacation, I took a look at adding some more songs from any number of her disks. It turns out I added zero. I know - I know, take away my fag card. I'll gladly give it up.

Though during spin class not too long ago, the instructor ran through "Burning Up" and I forgot how much I liked it....and it is a good song to spin to. But it did get me thinking.

Out of her 117 disks, soundtracks, greatest hit packages and remixes, oddly enough her debut disk is the only one that stands up to time. It is light, frothy and basically harmless. It aspires to nothing, which is actually its success. And while she has decent songs here and there on other disks, as a whole, they fail in an 'album' category - as opposed to them being 2-3 singles and lots of filler.

Me, being me, finds her biggest hit from this disk, the weakest ("you said I was borderline - I even wrote a song about it!"). In reality, she wrote nothing on this album and I think that helps. She sings 'moon-june-spoon' just fine and it doesn't get bogged down into what would later become posing and self-importance.

I still like "Lucky Star", "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction" (though the latter goes on a bit too long).

It's a decent disk if you're not looking for deeper meaning (or any meaning) or complex melodies and instrumentation.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

#9 Dream

Yes, I could have gone with "Revolution 9", which is also a John Lennon song (well, Beatles, but it was a John Lennon song!), but I didn't. My post title is more interesting and less creepy than the Beatles (White Album) track.

Today is 09-09-09. Not that I really care, nor did I mention it in any blog post for any date in 2004-2008. But it's Tom G's birthday and though I don't know how he is exactly celebrating, what a fun party theme. Of course, the party would have to start at 9:09, just for consistency sake. I'm sure he would make that so - as no one would throw him a better party than himself.

He's not self-absorbed, just the bestest party planner of anyone I know - and I bet he could step up to the plate to make a great 9-pretzel salad. Currently his record is 5. ...and he should have a great party. He deserves it.

9 seems to be big this year. The movie musical, Nine, is coming out out later this year. The sci-fi cgi, Tim Burton produced movie, 9, comes out today. Of course we've already had District 9 and the ill-fated Broadway version of 9 to 5(hey, it starred Allison Janney - was anyone expecting a Tony for it?). If Nine Inch Nails did something, it would just wrap everything up so nicely.....or if Jon & Kate had another kid.

And speaking "Revolution 9", it should be noted that the entire Beatles' catalog is being (re)released today in stereo and mono (along with their Rock Band game). I'm half-tempted to get the stereo recordings, but it means physical cds, which I haven't purchased in years. Why have iTunes and the Beatles not come to some kind of agreement? It is not like either of them truly need the cash.

No, it's safe to say that Tom G's birthday is the best thing to come this day. Tom - if you're reading this, have a great day!!!!!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

I'm off track for my movie goal of 2009. Same unrealized goal as 2006, 2007 and 2008. But I think we can get back on board. I certainly hope.

But yesterday we went to see Extract, which makes film #7 for the year.

I don't have much to say for it. My nephew really wanted to go, and now I'm assuming he played me to get into an R-rated movie without his parents permission. Just a hunch. Good for him. Clever kid.

The movie was so-so, at best. It is possible it is one of those that is better upon repeated viewings, like its predecessor, Office Space, it might be funnier. But at the cost of the theater, it makes it that less funny. It's why you get the McCormick's image as opposed to the good stuff that an Ina Garten will tell you to use. You get sub-par.....just like I did.

Jason Bateman is ok, but he is basically playing Michael Bluth (his Arrested Developmentcharacter). He's a go-to guy anymore, but he can be so much better than the stuff he's in. Like this movie. Christen Wiig is possibly the most underused person. She is way too funny to be playing the straight woman. What were they thinking? A total missed opportunity.

Oh - and Gene Simmons? UGLY. There is a reason the man wears make-up in Kiss - to cover his ugly. I'm surprised there is enough make-up in the world. Oh, and he's no actor.

Speaking of "actors" - Ben Affleck? Denton said, "oh he's ok". Sorry, but for someone who has done a few dozen movies, shouldn't he be better than "ok"? He was actually pretty bad.

My suggestion was going to be for you to wait to see it on DVD, but then thought you might just want to wait till it hits Starz (it's not HBO or Showtime material). Or, for that matter, just wait till it hits Comedy Central in four years.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

What is the point of making a speed limit in increments that are not of 5 of 10?

Even with all our technology, most cars cannot calculate an 8 mile an hour limit. And even if it could - is 2 miles really the difference between life and/or death?

I'd like to say I've sped up to slow down, but it's quite the opposite. My week of slow down was nice, but I'm paying the price, as I'm sure we all do after a vacation.

I would say I couldn't tell you how many emails I came back to, but I could. I could tell you I don't know how many emails I got when people realized I returned - but I can. It was just unreal. I got through most of my emails, but I can't say I really accomplished any work this week.

At least it's a three day weekend and only a four day work week next week. Oddly enough, right after my vacation, I need that.

Friday, September 04, 2009

You see, I have no songs that have the word 'nuts' in it. What's a blogger to do? Isaac Hayes was the best I could do.

I can guarantee you they are not chocolate, but they probably are salty. ...or so I've been told. bada-bing!!!

Last year we saw a similar store on the way to Cape Hatteras, and I was told we could stop on the way back........but we didn't.

It turns out there is a Try My Nuts store closer to where we stayed, but the sign wasn't nearly as good as the big road-side one. ...but I still insisted on getting my picture taken in front of it.

I won't say I completely wussed out - but the plan was for me to just point at my crotch to get the effect. But just as the picture was about to be taken, some 74 year old woman walked by. I felt a little foolish and lot dirty.

We went in, but not because I wanted to buy cashews. I really hoped for a good t-shirt that I could wear to my parents on a Sunday, just to drive my mother over the edge. There seem to be one or two simple ones here, but in the store they were all the crappy cartoony ones. I didn't want the message to get lost in drawing.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

So on our last night in DC, we went out to eat at Logan Tavern, we just wanted to sit outside and eat - and watch all the people go by. That's more than half the fun of eating outside.

Oh - and I get to pet the doggies who are on their walks.

It had been raining on and off all day, but we took our chances. Tick tick tick. Eating outdoors will be gone sooner than you think. It turns out we won our odds. No rain and it was a nice temperature, nice service and decent food.

But because of the potential rain, the outdoor area wasn't too crowded. One couple was behind me - a man and woman, though I'm 99.99% certain the man was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The thing I notice up on P St, is that if you're a local, eventually someone walks by you know. So behind me I hear two guys talking and the one sitting behind me says: "so are you dating anyone". The other responds, "I've given up on dating - I won't ever date again." He went on to talk about how hard it is to be a lesbian in this city.

I slyly turn around to see what guy has given up the dating life and who made some snide comment about being a lesbian. But there's no "guy". There was woman. A manly looking woman, but not "man".

Yeah, I'm probably not as comfortable with transgender as I should be, but to be fair, I haven't had a lot of exposure to it either. I dare say that is true of a lot of the population. So I kind of smiled when (s)he said to her friends, "it should be a 15 minute conversation, then it's over and we should just move on from there....."

Really?

I'm thinking in the best scenarios, two people getting to know each other don't have a 15 minute conversation about what is possibly their biggest life-changing event and then just drop it.

And this isn't just a male-to-female post-op situation. It is sexual identify along with sexual preference. Double whammy. You're not getting through all this in a quarter-hour and just moving on to what's your favourite colour and how many brothers do you have.

And boy did this person just go on and on and on to these two people. And us two also, as there was no way not to overhear everything. We were less than two feet away.

What I loved most of all was that you know (s)he was just walking by and they said something like, "hey, how's it going?" not realizing the person would stand there through their entire meal and never leave. Honestly - (s)he was there for 30-40 minutes.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

During our stay in DC, we ended up having dinner with an old friend of mine - Hunter.

Yes, his name is Hunter. I have friends with some great and interesting names: Hunter. York. Denton. Bill.

I guess it would be hard to call Hunter a "friend". While I have known him for 15 years, I can count on one hand the amount of times I've seen him. But we stay in touch - albeit sporadically.

Back in the Winter of 1994 Morty, Mitchell and I went to Key West for a week. Hunter had the room next to us. I don't remember who he was staying with, and to be honest, neither does he. He'd be the first to admit he never saw the guy again.

Hunter and I bonded and hung out (well - we all did) - and it turns out he was not shy about just saying whatever was on his mind, and he just outright asked what was wrong with my leg. I had my cancer surgery about nine months before and it was probably the first time anyone would have been able to see my still then nasty scar - except for those folks in the gym as I tried to rehab.

But usually social niceties preclude people from asking or saying anything. While he almost apologized for being so blunt, I found it refreshing that someone would just out and out ask. So, I told him the story.

During this trip, he told Mitchell and myself about Rehoboth - which neither of us had been to. Later that summer, Denton, Mitchell and I made our way east to the shore. There again, we ran into Hunter. And while we didn't spend much time with him there, we still made a little time to catch up.

Denton and I went the following two years as well. Both times I carved out availability for Hunter, who it seemed was always in Rehoboth on the weekends. After that - it just became emails here and there, as we stopped going to Delaware for a while.

All the time I traveled to DC, I could never connect with him. I didn't really take it personally, it was just timing. I thought.

Turns out it is not all timing, but it wasn't personal either. Hunter has become something of a recluse. Someone who has decided he will be alone, so is no longer dating or even attempting to date. Working, but not socializing with friends much. Going out to dinner with me on a Thursday - a weekday! - was just out of the norm and something he never ever does.

I found it strange and a little sad. And all too familiar.

I saw some of myself in him. I think that's why I have made this concerted effort to be more social over the last two years. Going out more to places I have not been - and to have more people over and to just get out there with neighbors and friends. It has been great.

Don't get me wrong, the three of us had a wonderful evening together. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of catching up, along with good food and weather. It was just an underlying tone that made me a little uncomfortable. He wasn't. He was fine. Hunter is just a great guy you would want more for - someone who deserves it but just kind of has settled.

As long as he's happy, I should be for him. Hopefully I'll see him again soon. Hopefully he'll want me to.